Happy Camper

Day 2 at our new gym and it was much like yesterday – but I’m doing a nearly the same 2 day split for a 4 day/wk strength routine. This first week is all about getting the lay of the land. However I did work hard. I woke up sore from my workout yesterday – SCORE! that means even my piss-weak, learning which weights to use workout from yesterday was still more challenging then my at home workouts. That’s what a wanted, a step up. My biceps and triceps were really taxed yesterday and I did 5 sets of chin-ups from a dead-hang.

Today, with Dan’s help, I walked around slightly less afraid to use the equipment – I bench pressed, I dead-lifted, hell, I did weighted hip thrusts with my engagement ring hanging around my neck (I don’t like to wear it on my finger when I’m handling iron). I did struggle with incline dumbbell presses – I’ve never really done them before, but luckily my handy fiancé was close enough to ask questions to!

It felt good today, I worked hard but got in and out in an hour. I was so efficient I had enough time to catch the train into the city and make it to the 2 dance classes I was hoping to take! I guess I was too excited because I whipped my head so fiercely during the combo I now can’t turn my head all the way to the right! Arms are sore, hammies sore, neck sore – check, check, check!

Tomorrow I’ll break it up with a little HIIT and some Abs. I originally had written HIIT or LISS in conjunction with whatever weight training I had on the schedule. But I’ve decided 1 hour of lifting is enough and I need 2-3 non-lifting days but Dan will still be going into the gym, so I’m going to do my cardio and abs on those days (so far I’ve only got hanging leg raises as ab work on my sched so there’s room for some moves on cardio days). I like breaking it up like this, though I never thought of having abs on a separate day.

Food is going well as far as I’m eating it, I’m the same weight and I seem to not be throwing up. But I’m starting to gag over some of my normal foods – hardboiled eggs, cheddar cheese and tuna are invoking a not pleasant feeling, the thought of eating sunflower seeds or coconut brings bile to my throat. So…today I had scrambled eggs, spinach, a protein bar, more scrambled eggs + steamed broccoli and jello. But my calories, carbs, fat was really low. So I ate 4 squares of dark chocolate and some mozzarella cheese I had to pick up especially because thinking of cheddar makes me want to spew. Not a bad day – but I need to find more foods. I don’t know if simply being sick brought this on but I hope it goes away soon. Hardboiled eggs were my staple! I have been loving on the extra firm tofu though, so gooood. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll bust out the Slimpasta and Quorn fake mince and try my hand at a keto-vegan bolognese. And you thought those 2 words could never be in the same sentence/recipe 😉

Here’s a flashback picture for you. This is me in 2008 – I was vegan, working as an aerialist and had just started to “train” though I didn’t know exactly what I was doing yet. and clearly I was still committed to not ever tanning. or seeing the sun at all 🙂 I had cut my hair off in a fit of rage and this is me trying to grow it out. Seems I’m in that stage, once again – sigh…